Dreams, February, 2014

February, 2014
We'll call this dream:

Super Alexander Saves the Whales

Superman, as seen in the trailer for DC Universe Online.
(Photo taken from comicbookmovie.com)

I am a superhero, with powers comparable to Superman's!
Super flight, super speed, super strength, bullet-proof, etc etc.
Pretty freaking awesome.
A thousand things suddenly happened at once because I suddenly had been Alexander (my hero name is just my first name) for months.
The government expected me to do their bidding, carry out their agenda, support their politicians... NOPE!
So I patrolled the world, but quickly pissed off a lot of FOREIGN governments who didn't want an American telling them how to live.
Africa needed my help, but the rulers and dictators took hostages any time I came within a hundred miles of them so it quickly became futile.
T.I.A.
I became frustrated with the whole thing and decided I was going to go into hardcore-mode on world problems.  After all, I'm bullet-proof, can fly, can pick up thousands of pounds, etc etc.  So what the hell are they gonna do to me?
I also didn't want, however, people declaring war on America for my actions.
I flew to the US Congressional Hall building (or whatever it's called, I'm tired) and pushed aside the person at the mic.
"I formally declare I am no longer American, and am not a citizen of ANY country!"
I left the building and on the way out a cute reporter girl stopped me and thrust a mic in my face.
"What're you going to do now that you're no longer American?" She asked loudly.
"I'm going to do the only pure cause there is.  I'm going to SAVE THE WHALES!"
I flew in the direction of Japan (you saw that coming) and began patrolling the waters.  I saw a ship hunting whales and punched a hole straight down through the bottom of the hull.  The ship sunk, and other ships and
boats came to rescue the survivors.

A Japanese whaling ship.  They disguise themselves by
putting "Research" on the side, looking harmless...
(Photo taken from whales.org.au)

Japan IMMEDIATELY adapted to my Save the Whales campaign.  They made ALL their ships look like whaling ships, and they all traveled along whaling routes as much as possible.
Good move, Japan...
I was very upset because my efforts didn't slow down whaling at all, and I'd been labeled globally as a radical who doesn't know how to maneuver situations.
"All he knows how to do is use his fists!" I heard someone say.
Despite my unpopularity there were many who admired my blunt war on whaling.
People volunteered to help me get organized and solve the new whaling situation.

Whaling harpoons on the side of a ship.
(Photo taken from greenpeace.org.uk)

I decided to abandon the Save the Whales campaign while my new volunteers worked out the dilemma.
I flew to Africa and decided to save the elephants instead.  Elephants are sort of the "whales of the land," right?!
I entered a large African animal preserve.  Each giant wing to the preserve was entered through a door.  It
was odd, there was a hallway with doors, each one opened to a different wing with different animals.
Despite the fact that this was a building and a regulated preserve, there was NO AUTHORITY protecting the animals.
The elephants needed me.
I found a small herd of elephants that had a baby with it.  It was about 5 feet tall, adorable, and I decided I would protect this precious creature with everything I had.
That's when my powers disappeared.  Suddenly I was just a normal guy again.
Awesome.  No powers.

Chyna, former professional WWE wrestler.
(Photo taken from thisis50.com)

And of course, that's when the poachers showed up.
The poachers were lead by Chyna, the professional WWE wrestling diva.
They had a bunch of harpoons.  HUGE harpoons that looked like they'd stop a whale.
They saw me with the elephants and told me to get lost.
"I'm Alexander, and you're gonna have to go through ME FIRST!"
"Sounds good to me!" Chyna exclaimed, grabbing a harpoon.  She was calling my bluff.
She began hurling harpoons at me.  They were big and slow enough that I could dodge them.
The poachers realized this wasn't working, so they pressed forward with AK-47 automatic rifles.

That's when I woke up.

Dreams, January, 2014

January 2014
We'll call this dream:

Book of Mormon Sequel

Perkasie from overhead.  My house would be about a
quarter mile to the right/North.
(Photo taken from Perkasie's Wikipedia.org page)

I was living back in Perkasie, PA.  That's where I grew up from age 6-19.  I've visited it frequently over the
last few years, since my family still lived there and now my Dad and his wife live there now.
Suddenly I was notified by a member of the Mormon church who informed me that they discovered, "another Book of Mormon!"
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"It's a sequel to The Book of Mormon!  Like another Bible!" she exclaimed.
Who is she?  I don't know and don't remember, just a generic she.
I haven't been to church (in real life) in a long time so I was a little surprised someone would come to me with this news, but I wasn't going to object because finding another Book of Mormon would be a serious historical event and if I could be a part of that in some way that would be TOTALLY COOL!
So I drive to the site, which turns out to be a newly excavated cave with a high ceiling.
They let me right into the cave without any hassle.  I'm still a member of the church, and there are very few Mormons in Perkasie, so I was to be the church's liaison for this find.

The Diving Bell from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
(Photo taken from tinypic.com)

Inside the cave are a bunch of numbered markers on the ground, like you'd see at a crime scene.  The centerpiece inside the cave was an old "Diving Bell" like in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.  The night of my dream I had finally purchased the Diving Bell and wasn't able to use it before needing to go to bed, so perhaps my mind felt the Diving Bell was "unresolved" and hence its incorporation in my dream.

A picture of a recreation of what the Gold Plates could
have looked like.  This isn't a very accurate recreation,
but it's closest to what they looked like in my dream.
(Photo taken from philosophiesofmen.blogspot.com)

The Bell was lifted up on one side and the golden plates removed and placed next to it.  I was the first to get to turn the pages.  They looked just like the gold plates I have seen pictures and recreations of since I was a kid.
I don't recall what the plates said specifically, but I know at the time I could actually read some of the pages.  I advised people standing nearby that these were definitely ancient stories inside, and I didn't recognize some of the names of characters in the stories.  I did, however, recognize one name in particular--Paul.  These plates would connect ancient Americans to the Apostle Paul!

Now for the reason I was brought in.  I was informed by the Mormon in charge of the site that we needed the Mayor's signature on some documents verifying that these were in fact ancient artifacts that were found at the site, and that they were not manufactured by modern means.
In short, the Mayor's signature would prove the Book of Mormon Sequel was real.
I took a clipboard with its documents to the Mayor's capital building, which was pretty nice but also doesn't exist in the real Perkasie.

President Allison Taylor from 24.
(Photo taken from newscoma.com)

The Mayor in my dream was President Allison Taylor from the last two seasons in 24.
I've been watching a LOT of 24 lately...
I approached the Mayor with my request to have her authenticate the plates origins.  She'd been privy to the whole discovery and knew all the details.  She knew the plates were legitimate.
"I won't sign that." She exclaimed, turning from me and walking away.
"Why not?" I asked, "You know they're real..."
"I won't sign them because I don't want people thinking I support your church.  I can't sign that without being 'pro-Mormon' and I believe church and State should be separate."
Her objections made some sense to me, but I wasn't about to give up.
"You know these plates are real.  You've seen everything that's happened.  You're gonna SIGN these documents or I'm gonna label you as 'anti-religion'!"  I threatened.
This caught her attention.  Perkasie has a lot of old tradition and despite its low population it has a lot of churches.  An openly anti-religion Mayor has no hope of being reelected in Perkasie.
She signed the forms.
I woke up as I headed back to the cave.

Where Have I Been?

Starring:
Me, Alexander Knight (Lucky Stiff, 1984, The Pajama Game)

I had this REALLY bad laptop for a few years there.  Before that I had an even worse laptop.

Laptop #1 was a Dell I had through college, which was a "college present" for lack of a better term.  After a few years it wouldn't turn on.  I bought a .22 rifle and took it out to a field near Rexburg, Idaho and put a few hollow-points in it.  Between me and my Brother-in-Law, James, I'd say we put 100 bullets in it.

Laptop #2 was my Dad's, then my baby bro's, then mine.  It was horrible.  Took 10+ minutes to boot up, and if it was unplugged for more than 10 seconds it would shut off since the battery held no charge.  That is sitting on my shelf, crucial info moved to an SD card, awaiting execution.

Now I have a Cromebook:

My new Sansung Chromebook

That I LOVE.

It's so simple.  Just uses programs put out there by Google like Google Docs, Blogger (obviously), Google Sheets, etc. But I can also add my Netflix, IMDb, IGN, and Facebook apps.

It was so inexpensive ($250 a Best Buy) and I don't have to download Office 365 or buy software or sign my life away to Apple or anything.  It's fantastic!

But this isn't my Chromebook review post.  I was explaining where I've been.

Sure, I could have gone to a library or borrowed a friend's computer to keep up on my movies, but I just wasn't motivated for a while there.  

I've been watching movies this entire time.  Don't know why I never bought a Megaplex Rewards card, I could probably have TONS of free popcorn by now.  Since I paused blogging I saw Dark Knight Rises, Avengers, Thor: The Dark World... so many movies.  I'll try to blog about some of the highlights, as well as older movies too.  Classics like Hook, Rounders, and It's a Wonderful Life.  I LOVE movies.  I think movies can be the greatest form of art out there.

Hugh Jackman (Tomas) bowing before
the queen (Isabel) in The Fountain
(Photo taken from thebardsgrove.blogspot.com)

Movies are the ultimate art medium.

One of my favorites is The Fountain.  I need to watch that again, and blog it if I haven't already.

"Why don't you just check if you've blogged it?"
"Eh."

So yeah, blog-wise I feel like you're caught up now.

I look forward to writing more and more about my life and especially about my views on movies.  I LOVE movies.  Did I mention that?

"Why don't you just scroll up 2 inches and see if you wrote it?"
"Eh."

Factoid:  With all the overtime I've been working I've had 1 (one) weekend in January.  It ain't easy being green.